Ben Cardin: “I rise to support the Senate substitute for H.R. 1495, which I hope we will be getting to, the Water Resources…”

“I rise to support the Senate substitute for H.R. 1495, which I hope we will be getting to, the Water Resources Development Act. This legislation has been delayed for many years. I thank Senator Boxer and Senator Inhofe for bringing together a bill that is critically important to our future in regard to water infrastructure improvement and the ecosystem's restoration. I think this legislation is carefully balanced, it is responsible as far as its budget, but it is very important for us to move forward and consider this legislation and move it to, I hope, enactment and signature by the President. The bill contains a number of provisions that are vital to Maryland, which relies heavily upon the Army Corps of Engineers for water resource programs. The bill contains an important project that protects Cumberland, MD, and Ridgeley, WV, against flooding. Like so many other projects contained in this bill, the Cumberland effort will have multiple benefits. In addition to the increased public safety that comes from flood control, this project will serve as an essential component of the restoration efforts underway in Cumberland, including the rewatering of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the reconstruction of the turning basin there. For the first time, the Army Corps will supplement the Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to repair and improve the wastewater treatment facility plants that benefit the Chesapeake Bay.”